Child Development Inc. (CDI), a nonprofit organization that administers Head Start programs in Pope, Johnson, Yell and 10 other counties, shut its doors in Russellville yesterday due to budgetary issues, according to Arkansas Head Start State Collaboration Director Jackie Dedman.

“The federal budget where Head Start comes from did not get approved until last week, and what has happened with Child Development Inc. in Russellville is that they should have been in the payment system, but won’t receive their funding until (Wednesday),” Dedman said.

Russellville’s offices were the only in the state to shut down Tuesday, Dedman said. She said all Head Start programs in the state have different funding dates, and Russellville’s programs are scheduled to receive their funding today, which marks the first day of their fiscal year.

Donna Hendrix, secretary to Russellville Superintendent Randall Williams, said CDI called the public schools in which they rent rooms and notified them Monday of Tuesday’s closings. Hendrix said CDI also notified parents of children in the Head Start program.

The closing followed an incident last week in which Russellville CDI employees reportedly received emails stating they would not receive their paychecks until further notice. State media outlets reported employees were not given explanation as to why their paychecks were delayed.